<p>Our daughter has narrowed her decision to St Olaf, Denison and University of Vermont. She will swim with whomever she chooses. Two of the above schools are DIII and one is DI, two are known for outstanding academics. She likes a little of each of them but cannot decide. Any advice? The intensity of the swimming is likely to play a part in her ultimate decision; she wants a challenge but doesn't want swimming to be the reason she's at college, she wants a good education. We live in the midwest currently.
Thanks for any input.</p>
<p>I got no advice for choosing among the three. Sorry.</p>
<p>I just wanted to say, I bet your daughter didn’t take your climate preferences into account when she was looking at colleges, did she?</p>
<p>My daughter could have also been a college athlete but did not want to live for her sport. With that being said, we talked to many coaches and other athletes that basically said that D1 the sport owns you all year and D3 the sport owns you for your season. I would definitely go D3 if she doesn’t want her college experience/academics to be an aside to her athletics. Hope this helps. :)</p>
<p>I’m not that familiar with the schools, but overall, it sounds to me that she should probably go to the D3 that offers the best academics in her area of interest. In addition, location/finances/personal preferences will come into play as well.</p>
<p>I think Denison.</p>
<p>St. Olaf does not have a Greek presence while Denison has an active Greek life, if that is important. Both have beautiful campuses, we have been to both. Personally, I think St. Olaf is probably the friendliest campus I have visited and it was my personal first choice for my DD but she chose elsewhere. I do not put the University of Vermont in the same academic league as St Olaf or Denison. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>I second Denison.</p>
<p>I think Denison and St Olaf have different vibes/characteristics…</p>
<p>St Olaf
46% from Minn
22% from upper midwest
8% eastern
Multicultural students: 15 percent (class of 2015)
White, midwest wholesome, and Lutheran</p>
<p>Denison
24% from Ohio
Multicultural students: 29 percent (class of 2015)
First-generation students: 13 percent (class of 2015)
Denison is moving nicely away from their old stereotype: white, preppy, and filled with kids unable to get into a ‘good’ school.</p>
<p>Can’t comment at all about St Olaf’s but S is senior at Denison and knows swimmers at Denison. D is swimmer and knows swimmers on both Denison’s and UVMs teams…very familiar with both UVM and Denison</p>
<p>Denison and UVM are very very different! Academically, both offer a great education, but with different styles. So your daughter should consider what academic environment she prefers. Denison the typical LAC with small classes and you do/can get to know your professors well, do undergraduate research, internships and get good recommendations etc. UVM more of the typical university-feel, but folks have told me their children love their classes and upper level classes smaller and great, research, interships etc.</p>
<p>The cultures are completely different. UVM very northeast organic etc. Denison more midwest, a bit preppy etc. Weather, very different.</p>
<p>Swimming…this will depend on your daughter’s mindset. Dension is obviously a fantastic program and also pretty intense as I hear it. Quite a few swimmers decide it’s more than they were looking for. UVMs program while D1 is probably not anymore demanding than Denison. Does UVM have a men’s team…not sure that matters, but might contribute to the overall “psych” of the team at championships etc.</p>
<p>D is a senior in HS and also going to play a D3 sport so familiar with balancing all these factors in college decision. I think your daughter should do overnights at the colleges with the team and see the coach in action and see the school unfiltered and make her decision based on the place she could be happiest. So many kids end up quitting their sport by junior year, so she needs to love the non-sport aspects of the school</p>
<p>…just my 2 cents…</p>
<p>Is cost a factor? Have you received aid/scholarship offers from any of them yet?
Which one has the lowest out-of-pocket cost?</p>
<p>What does your daughter want to study?
Have you compared specific academic programs?</p>
<p>My D applied and was accepted with high merit aid to both St. Olaf and Denison, and she swims. She chose St. Olaf and has never regretted it for a second. She felt more welcomed by the students at St. Olaf and by the coaches (father and son team). The swim team is a family, they mean business, but they mean for you to be in college, too. D went abroad this January which definitely impacted her season, but no one held anything against her for going, as it is expected that students will partake in those kinds of opportunities. She has not had trouble balancing school work with swimming, but when you’re doing what you love, it seems easier. She will now be competing at Nationals for the triathlon next month and is on a service trip for spring break–can’t say enough bout the personal and intellectual growth at St. Olaf and the family atmosphere of the swim team! Can’t beat the food, either (a big factor for D).</p>
<p>My advice is to attend the accepted student overnights and let the coaches know she is coming so she can hang with the team, too (and not just the coach). Both great schools–go for the fit!</p>